Harry Potter and the Uncut Gem
by Jefinner
Summary: The final battle is won and over...or is it? Dun dun dun. Warning: Mild Character Death


Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I wish I did. I'm not getting paid for this, but I wish I was.

A/N: This is my first one, so don't expect a masterpiece. Don't beat me too much, I bleed. By the way, I've chosen to use 'Tom' because that is what Dumbledore called him.

**Harry Potter and the Uncut Gem**

The battle raged around them, as they stood facing each other. The noise seemed to dull, as Harry Potter and Tom Riddle eyed each other across the bare patch of ground. With a sweep of his wand, Tom had cleared the area of anything that Harry could have used for cover. He had learned his lesson from the last times he had faced The-Boy-who-Lived. What Tom had failed to realize however, was that Harry was done dodging and hiding. Harry stood his ground, and eyed Tom with all the hatred he felt for him. The emotion that Tom saw in Harry's eyes made him hesitate. It reminded him of himself.

It was that hesitation that was his undoing. Harry sent the soul separating spell at Tom, that Hermione had found. She had discovered it in an old book in the library of the Black Manor. They had used it to destroy the horcruxes. The soul fragments had been trapped within a large, uncut diamond, leaving the objects undamaged. There was only one known piece left, and that was in the serpentine 'man' in front of Harry.

The spell Harry had sent flew across the space between them, hitting Tom square in the chest. The stunned look on his face would have made Harry laugh, if the situation had been less serious. Tom slowly sank to his knees as a small shimmer seemed to escape his lips. Harry withdrew the diamond from the inner pocket of his cloak, and threw it in the direction of Tom's collapsed form. The diamond stopped in mid-air, hovering just above his body. It seemed to vibrate as it drew the soul fragment into itself, entrapping it, before being summoned back to Harry.

Harry stood, looking down at the vacant face of his nemesis. He was still breathing faintly, but without a soul he was now just a shell. Harry then noticed that the battle seemed to have stalled. Order members, Aurors, and Death Eaters alike, seemed to have stopped to watch Tom fall.

A scream of rage split the silence that had fallen across the battlefield. Bellatrix Lestrange's face was almost purple. She sent a half dozen spells, all aimed at Harry, before the echo of her scream faded away. Harry's reactions were still very quick. He ducked, throwing up shield charms all around himself. Bella's reducto spell bounced of Harry's shield, and hit the side of Tom's head. The result was similar to being hit with the volley of a shotgun. There was very little of Tom's head left.

Bella screamed again, but this time in anguish. She ran across the battleground towards the former Dark Lord's dead body, while all around her, skirmishes had broken out again. Harry summoned her wand, but she barely seemed to notice, then he put her in the Body Bind charm. The heart seemed to have gone out of the offensive by this time. Death Eaters were being rounded up, while a handful others were continuing to fight or trying to escape.

Harry looked around him, and spied his friends fighting off to the side. As he watched, Lupin sent the Avada Kadavra curse at Grayback, and the older werewolf crumpled into a heap on the ground.

Ron was fighting with Snape, while Hermione was making short work of two other Death Eaters. The new spells she had been working on were paying off. Neville had just taken down Rodolphus Lestrange with a cry of triumph and Luna also seemed to be holding her own.

The battle seemed to be over. There were several bodies lying around, and Harry caught sight of Professor McGonagall, surrounded by Tonks, Mad-eye, and Shacklebolt. They all seemed to be stunned, and by the look on their faces, Harry guessed that she was dead. Hagrid was bleeding from his left ear, and seemed to be in a daze.

Harry felt a weight settle in his stomach, yet again. _All the useless death and destruction, and for what? For one madman to try and live his dream of world domination?_

Harry looked up as someone called his name. Ron was striding over to him, and Harry knew that the battle was definitely over.

"Well?" said Ron.

Harry pulled the diamond from his pocket - it should be glowing now, indicating that all the fragments were now trapped. However, as Harry gazed at it, he realized that there was no such telltale glow. He looked up at the others, who were all staring at the gem.

Then they all looked at each other as Harry said, "Oh God! Now what?"

A/N: Like I said, this is a first attempt and really an experiment to see if my technologically illiterate self could actually manage to post something. If I did...yay me! Hope you enjoyed it. Just so you know, the diamond, once full, was going through the veil.


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